This Man

This man. This God. This seamless thread that runs throughout the entirety of Scripture...it is Jesus Christ, our Savior.

In our study of the four gospels this week, we got to witness all the pieces come together. Every Old Testament story, every character, every prophecy, every detail, all of it points toward the coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

Matthew's book starts off with a bang - a long list of "was the son of" names. It's tempting to skim over those names, but if you read them carefully, you'll find yourself surrounded by a beautiful cloud of witnesses. Luke records a similar genealogy in his gospel. Look at Luke 3:23-38. Recognize anyone?

Joseph, the stepfather of Jesus
Boaz, Ruth's kinsman redeemer
Jacob, who stole Esau's birthright, wrestled with God and was renamed Israel
Isaac, the promised son who went up the mountain with his father as a sacrifice
Abraham, the father of nations
Noah, who was the only one found faithful and built the ark
Enoch, the man who walked with God
Adam, the first of all humankind, the first sinner

We also find Ruth and Rahab and Mary in the lineage of Jesus. I'm so thankful God included these women of the faith in his story. All these stories we've been reading over the past six weeks have led us to this climax. It all points to this! Jesus, the Son of God. (Luke 3:38)

So much Old Testament prophecy pointed people toward the coming Messiah. Prophets such as Isaiah and Hosea foretold the coming of Jesus as Messiah hundreds of years before he came (Isaiah 7:14, 9:2-7 and Hosea 11:1). Without their prophetic words, we might be tempted to think that Jesus was just a good man, and wonder if his claims to be the Son of God were actually true. But when Old Testament prophecy brings up details that are perfectly fulfilled centuries later, we can see that it's no coincidence. Jesus really is the Son of God!

The four gospels give us different perspectives on the story of the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. They're told by four completely different men with four varying messages. (If you're following along in your book, there's a chart on p 136 that helps us see how the gospels are aligned.) Matthew was a Jew (Remember the Jews? They wandered in the desert for 40 years! They are God's chosen people!). Scripture explains that the gospel message is first for the Jews. Matthew's main message was to convince these Jews that Jesus is truly the Messiah. Some of God's chosen people (the Jews) are still waiting today for the promised Messiah! Their eyes are closed to the idea that his name is Jesus and he has already come. Mark's gospel was written to the Romans. As a citizen of Rome himself, Mark wanted to tell his fellow Romans about the good news of Jesus. Dr. Luke was a Gentile (remember, a Gentile is anyone who is not a Jew) and his letter was written to show Jesus's connection to the Gentiles. Not only did he come to reign as King of the Jews, but he came to save Gentiles like me and you! Those three books are the synoptic gospels. The gospel of John is a bit different. John wrote his gospel for everyone to read! His main goal was to convince us all to BELIEVE that Jesus is who he says he is! The beauty of the Gospel is that it really is good news for us all.

One of the most amazing pictures along this thread of seamless beauty is the temple curtain, otherwise known as the veil. Picture the temple, a big building with separate courts for the women and men. There were walls around it with several different gates. There were places for different people to bring sacrifices and altars on which to sacrifice them. The Gospel Coalition has a great illustration for you visual learners. Picture the innermost room of the temple, almost like an inside closet. This was the Holy of Holies. The high priest entered the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement. It's said that the priests would tie a rope to the High Priest's leg so that in case he died in there, they could pull him out! The Holy of Holies was separated from the rest of the temple by an enormous, thick curtain. Don't picture your living room curtains. This thing was a monstrosity. The curtain was the only thing that separated the place where God dwelt from the rest of the temple.
And when Jesus had taken his last breath, the earth shook, many bodies of the saints who had died were raised and the curtain TORE from top to bottom. Just check out Matthew 27:51-53.

This tearing of the temple veil is a perfect earthly illustration of what had just happened in the spiritual realm. When the curtain tore from top to bottom, it signified that this was an act of God. If it had torn from bottom to top, it might be said that a man had done it. The fact that it was torn from top to bottom shows that God himself destroyed the barrier between men and himself. There was no longer a need for a priest to intercede on behalf of the people. Jesus had just made the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of humanity. The tearing of the temple veil indicates that no more atoning sacrifices are needed! What a beautiful picture of God's chasing after his people. He didn't want a barrier between us and Him, so he sent Jesus to earth to erase that barrier. What beautiful love.

Jeremy Camp sings a song about the beauty of what Christ did for us on the cross, called This Man. I encourage you to watch it here to remind yourself of what Jesus has done for you. All of these stories, all of Scripture, tell the bigger story of Jesus's love for YOU. He wants you to admit that you're a sinner in need of the salvation he provided on the cross. He wants you to turn away from that sin and follow Him. He wants you to do all of that because he wants to bring you home to him in heaven when your life on earth is over. Without choosing Him, your eternal destiny will be separation from Him in hell. Please choose Jesus! If you have any questions about what it means to be saved, please ask me any time!